Peter Kuentzel was raised in the rural farm town of Winterset, Iowa. In 1963 he majored in art at Bakersfield College. He attended the University of Iowa for a B.A. Degree. At the end of his college years he found his passion for clay. He then taught on Long Island while working on a portfolio of ceramics. In 1972 he graduated from Claremont Graduate School with a M.F.A. under the guidance of Paul Soldner. He taught at Laguna Beach School of Art and the Des Moines Art Center before beginning a thirty-five career at Miami-Dade College.
He exhibits locally and nationally. Peter received three Individual Florida Artist Fellowships and a Southern Arts Federation/ Regional Fellowship. He had residencies at Tuscarora Pottery School, Nevada; Sun Valley Arts Center, Idaho; Mendocino Art Center; and Guldagergaard Skaelskor, Denmark.
He now works in his studio on Lopez Island, Washington.